


A Star Is Born

by Topaz_Eyes



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Astronomy, Bittersweet, Episode Related, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-08-11
Updated: 2010-08-11
Packaged: 2017-10-11 01:06:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/106591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Topaz_Eyes/pseuds/Topaz_Eyes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>How do you name stars?</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Star Is Born

**Author's Note:**

> Minor spoilers for "The End of Time." All astronomical and other errors are mine.

  
"So, how long do you think it will be until it happens?"

Donna handed the Doctor a mug of steaming cocoa, and sat down beside him in the open door of the TARDIS. Their feet dangled over the edge of the box. Before them, in the reaches of space within the Orion Nebula, was a brownish sphere with streams of blue, gold and magenta dust swirling into it. The ball looked as if it might glow at any moment.

"Could be days, could be minutes. My guess is..." The Doctor glanced back at the Time Rotor, which was serenely pulsating behind them. "Maybe two hours at most. Assuming the chain reaction doesn't speed up and the star expands faster than predicted. Oh, then we'd be in trouble." He sipped from the mug. "Mmm, nice cocoa. Is that a hint of cinnamon?"

"Yeah, it is," Donna replied. "But back on point, only you would make outrunning a starburst a sport. As if we don't do enough running in the first place."

"So why are you here sitting beside me if you don't like the running?" He looked over with a saucy grin.

She scowled at him. "Hold on there, Spaceman, I never said that."

He chuckled outright, and a moment later Donna joined in.

"But this is beautiful," she added when the guffaws died down, and she bumped his shoulder. "Witnessing the birth of a star up close. Like watching the first moments of Earth forming the Christmas we first met, only bigger."

A shadow flitted over the Doctor's face, but it disappeared as fast as it came. His eyes brightened again, dancing with mischief. "Our first date," he said, his brows waggling.

"Oi!" She punched his arm. "Enough with you!"

Some of the cocoa in his mug sloshed onto his thigh, and he jumped. "Ow! Donna!"

"Shut it, Martian boy, you deserved that one. You know, sometimes I think you ask for trouble on purpose."

The Doctor pouted, but Donna paid him no heed. After a moment or two, the Doctor shrugged and admitted to himself that Donna was right, though he'd never tell her that. "Biscuit?" he asked instead, holding out a bag of Jammie Dodgers.

"Mmm, thank you."

They drank and munched a bit. "This is the best part of traveling through time and space though, isn't it?" he said after his fourth biscuit. "We witness the things no one else gets to see."

"Yeah," she said, her mouth full, and she chewed thoughtfully. After another minute she added, "And you know, I never did thank you."

The Doctor frowned, puzzled. "For what?"

"Taking me to the beginning of the Earth that Christmas. In the midst of all that madness. The wedding, the huon particles, Lance, the giant red spider--all that water and fire, that terror and evil. And you showed me the most amazing event anyone could ever hope to see. Something I'd never even dreamed of."

He studied his half-empty mug, deep in thought. Tumbling down the motorway in the TARDIS, imploring her to jump from the cab; Donna Noble in her wedding gown, staring down the Empress of the Racnoss. He didn't know then, how important she'd be to him now. How grateful he'd be to her.

"It didn't cross my mind at all, 'til after you'd left, and it was too late to tell you then," she continued. "So, Doctor, I'm saying it now. Thank you for showing me."

The Doctor's face lit up with his smile. "Donna Noble, it was my pleasure."

They sat in companionable silence, sipping from their mugs and kicking their feet over the edge, safe in the surrounding air bubble the TARDIS provided. At length the Doctor said, "Do you know, molecules of hydrogen gas have been coalescing for millions of years, under the force of gravity, growing the core of the star? A protostar, if you will."

Donna watched him in profile, his face and body relaxed, and she felt a surge of affection for the daft alien. "Yeah? Then what happens?"

His hands flew, illustrating. "Then gases keep falling in over more millions of years, around the protostar, to form the outer layers of the star. Eventually, the mass creates enough pressure to generate thermonuclear fusion in the core. Once that starts, a huge stellar wind develops on the surface which stops more gas from accreting, and the star emits visible light. A fascinating process. I love it."

"I wish Gramps were here," Donna said, a wistful twinge in her voice. "He'd want to watch this too."

"He might, you know. Fifteen hundred years from now, tonight or tomorrow." At Donna's puzzled look he elaborated, "Oh, he won't see it up close like we are. But, if he aims his telescope at the edge of the nebula, just south of Orion's Belt, he'll see the light flicker into existence in the evening sky. A brand new star in the cosmos, waiting to be named."

"How do you name stars?"

"It's very complicated. Depends on how bright it is, how many other named stars are in the constellation, if it is in one, and so on. If not, it's called by its number within its Earth declination zone. Like, BD +75 deg 752."

Donna raised her eyebrows. "That's not a name, that's a serial number. Really, you scientist lot, you are just so boring. A star should have a proper name. Like Tiffany, maybe, or Allison."

"Tiffany? _Tiffany_?" His jaw dropped. "What sort of name is that?"

"A grand name, thank you very much. And I think it's better than what you could come up with, Spaceman. I suppose you'd call it what? Something absurd like Engelbert, maybe?"

"Hey! Don't knock that name. Happens to belong to some very talented people."

Donna looked away, suitably chastened. "Yeah, sorry."

"I met him once, Engelbert Humperdinck. A very nice man," the Doctor said.

She turned back towards him, her mouth an 'o' of surprise. "No! Get out. You met the singer?"

"I met the composer. He wrote _Hansel und Gretel_, one of the greatest German operas ever written. Did you know he was a contemporary of Wagner, Mahler and Strauss? Shame he's been somewhat eclipsed by them, he was really quite good."

"You and your name-dropping," Donna said, softening her own rebuke with a fond smile. "You are such a show-off."

"You have to admit, my showing off is worth it." He waved his hand in the direction of the star. "Come on, admit it."

Donna mock-sighed. "Oh, I suppose. Sometimes."

They drained their cocoa and set the empty mugs inside the door.

"You know, I think we should call this star Esther," Donna said. "After the movie _A Star Is Born_."

"Esther means 'star' in Persian," the Doctor said thoughtfully. "Now that's hardly original." At Donna's sour look he swiftly amended, "But Tiffany's grown on me. Tiffany. Tiff-an-y. I like it. Good name for a star." He nodded decisively.

She glared at him. "You're not just saying that to get back in my good graces?"

"Yes. I mean, no. Well, I mean, maybe I am a bit."

Donna snorted. "What do I do with you, Spaceman?"

He grinned at her, then bumped her shoulder. "Ah, you love it. You wouldn't have me any other way."

Donna shook her head. "I'm going to ignore that one."

They turned back towards the nebula, waiting for the new star to ignite. A few minutes later the Doctor said, "I think the gases have slowed down. See, they're not swirling inwards anymore."

At that point, Donna noticed a giant flare jump out. "Doctor, the surface is erupting."

He peered at the star. "It's starting. Here comes the T Tauri wind," the Doctor said. "Get inside, brace yourself."

They bolted inside, shut the door, grabbed onto the railing and held tight. They were far enough away, and the TARDIS was sturdy enough, that it felt no more than what they usually went through when the TARDIS took off or landed. When the buffeting stopped, they opened the door again and looked out; the nascent star began to glow, then burst into white light.

"Oh, look at that," the Doctor breathed.

"A star is born," Donna whispered.

She leaned her head on the Doctor's shoulder; he slipped an arm around her, and they stood and watched the brand new star shine bright in the darkness of space.

"In another three billion years, thirteen planets will orbit Tiffany," the Doctor said after awhile. "Four of those planets will contain life. You know, we could skip ahead and visit it. The start of new life on Tiffany Six."

"Maybe later. I'm good right now." She smiled and pulled back to face him, her eyes shining. "I don't think anything could top this. Except maybe witnessing the birth of a galaxy. D'you think we could, one day?"

"Next one that comes along," he said.

"Is that a date?"

"That's a promise."

* * *

Four billion years later, a safe distance away from the brand-new entity which had formed from the collision of the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies, the Doctor stood alone in the open doorway of the TARDIS.

Leaning against the jamb, hands curled around a mug of cocoa, he watched with a mixture of awe and regret. "Oh, Donna, I never did take you to see the birth of a galaxy, did I," he said quietly, as streams of rainbow-colored dust plumed and swirled towards the centre of the new spinning disc. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. How you would have loved to see this."

He then smiled in fond memory, and addressed the Donna-shaped space beside him again. "But you know what? I think I'll call it 'Allison.' Yeah. 'Allison.' It's a brilliant name for a brand-new galaxy, don't you think?"


End file.
